Hanging on a Maybe
by LeafyDream
Summary: We grow up. Things change. The people we loved, and the people who loved us, drift away, but sometimes you'll be surprised at who is still by your side.
**Hanging on a Maybe**

The wind blew gently, caressing Yukiko's face as she stood on the cliff's side, gazing upon this beautiful home she once called her prison. She gave a practiced smile, but the wind stole it away. She wanted to smile, and laugh the scar it left, but she didn't have the strength in her. She took in a cold breath and gave it back to the wind, hot and heavy.

She looked up to the sky, and it reflected her inner self. The sky wasn't blue, but it wasn't a warm orange either. It was grey, with clouds looming over the city of Inaba like a blanket.

Maybe it was about to open, and light would return to the sleepy, little town on nowhere? Maybe it would rain, and thunder would echo through the horizon for miles and miles. Maybe it was just going to be a cloudy Tuesday afternoon.

 _Maybe._ The word sits on Yukiko's mind, lounging on it, really. It was too lazy to move on, too lazy to do anything else, but eat away at her thoughts. _Maybe I can go. Maybe I'll stay. Maybe..._

Maybe wasn't just a word. It was a fork in the road that left her trembling in the cold, winter day, despite her beige, layered coat and scarlet scarf. She let out another breath, and she saw the tiny vapors of water inside of it. She trembled again, but she refused to move. She promised herself she wouldn't leave this spot until she knew where she was going.

She had been standing there for nearly twenty minutes. Her legs were starting to hurt a little bit, honestly.

"Yuki-chan?"

She doesn't turn to face the speaker because she's scared of just who it could be. She holds her breath for only a moment, realizing just what the speaker had called her. Not Yukiko-senpai or even just Yukiko. No, they called her-

"Yuki-chan?"

"Teddie?" She almost laughed. Here she is, standing on the edge of a cliff, both physical and metaphorical, looking for a sign of what to do with her future, and the universe gives her Teddie. She turns to face him, and she almost can't believe it. He looked distraught, he looks scared of her. "Teddie, what... what's wrong?" And for a moment, her own troubles are gone, replaced with kinship and worry for a friend.

"You haven't been at the headquarters for a while..."

The 'Secret Headquarters?' She knew she had promised, that they all had promised to meet up once a week so they could still pretend to be friends, but that just didn't seem possible. Their silver haired leader was on the other side of Japan, Risette was working on her big comeback tour, Kanji-kun was getting more and more requests for more and more complicated art projects, the Detective Prince was last seen on her television, talking about the latest case, Yosuke-kun was rising to the challenge of balancing college exams and his new job of manager at Junes, and her so-called best friend... Chie just had better things to do.

Eventually, Yukiko stopped bothering. She didn't see much of a point after her mother's condition came to light and her own responsibilities seemed to triple. Too many things to do, never enough time. Overwhelming. Drowning.

"Yuki-chan?"

"Sorry." She had been spacing out a lot lately. "Sorry..." She had been saying that a lot lately too. He took a step closer and she didn't stop him. Soon, he was standing right beside her and she she realized something she never had before. "You're taller than me," she thought aloud.

He grinned at her, like he just won the lottery. "Yosuke's said I had a growth spurt, but don't worry. I am beary sure I won't be getting any taller," he laughed. "I don't wanna get mistaken for a scary monster like Kanji does!"

She felt her lips being tugged on, and she allowed smile to grace her features. He returned the smile with one of his own. "That's funny." Not funny enough to laugh at it, but funny enough to smirk. The distinction doesn't matter to him, though. He just grins wider.

"Thanks!"

The wind howls at the couple, and Yukiko's brought back to her problem. Her smile is gone again and his soon follows. "Yuki-chan?" She looks to the grey horizon, her body just inches away, but her mind miles away. "What's wrong?"

"Why are you asking?" She asked because she doesn't want to answer, and because he's acting so unlike the perverted, silly bear boy.

"Sensei would ask. He took care of all of us... Then he had to leave, so I'm trying to do what he did."

Yukiko didn't know what to say to that. She gaped at the blonde, smiling boy with open mouth and wide eyes, before giggling just the tiniest bit. "That's sweet," she muttered, and he grinned at the compliment. There was nothing stopping her from answering him this time, so she just looked away and answered. Her eyes gazed at the cloud filled sky, watching birds soar over them both.

"I'm thinking about leaving."

"Huh? Where are you going?"

"Okina City? Maybe even Tokyo, if I can make it."

The full weight of her words hit him, and Teddie's aquamarine eyes turn into sparkling dinner plates. "Y-you're leaving Inaba?! W-why?! What about your friends?! What about the Amagi Inn?! W-what about your family?!" She knows he wanted to say more, but he stopped himself just in time. She had a guess on what he wanted to say...

 _"What about me?"_

He didn't say it because he knew if she left, it would mean that he wasn't worth staying for. It shouldn't have surprised him, after all, Chie was her best friend and her family was... her family, but it still hurt to consider. So he just kept his mouth shut and gawked at her, his eyes pleading for an explanation or for her to say 'Kidding!'

It never came. Instead, all she did was look towards the horizon. Teddie called out to her, but she didn't, or couldn't, face him. So he stepped in front of her and his sapphire eyes stared into her obsidian gems. She stepped back, blushing at their closeness, but he followed after her. "Yuki-chan, w-why would you leave?"

"My parents are having another child." Teddie cocked his head to the side, not understanding the answer. "It means they don't need me anymore. I'm not the sole heir to the Amagi Inn anymore. It's not my problem."

"Sensei said you liked working at the Inn! He said, that it being forced on you was never the problem!"

"That was before," muttered the raven haired woman.

"Before?"

"Everyone's gone." She wasn't angry when she recited the simple fact. She wasn't. She was just quiet and empty. It was a simple truth. Wasn't that what they were obsessed with, all those years ago? She almost wished for another murder mystery, another threat to the world that could bring them all together. _Selfish Yukiko's at it again,_ she bitterly laughed.

"Why are you smiling like that...?" He held up his hand to touch hers, but he choked and his arms hung by each of his sides. He opened his mouth and shook his head side to side, trying to wrap his head around the revelation. "You shouldn't be smiling! You shouldn't be leaving! Inaba is your home, Yuki-chan! And we're all your friends!" Yukiko turned away, only to feel his fingers wrap around her wrist. "Yuki-chan..."

"There's nothing left for me here, Teddie... We thought we were all going to be friends forever, that our promises meant something..." He could feel her trembling, but he refused to let go. His grip was firm, but caring. Her voice was strong, but falling apart. "We grew up. That's what happens."

"I can't believe that!" He pulled on her arm, and she felt herself being tugged towards him. She didn't fight back as their eyes became locked into each other's gaze again. "We're not just friends. We're family. The bonds we've made, they're eternal! We're all meant to be together forever!" His eyes were shimmering, and she knew he was fighting back tears.

She saw something in those eyes. A similar scar etched onto both their hearts. _We're both alone..._ "We didn't make a bond. He made bonds with us. He was our glue. He held us together, and now he's gone, and we're all falling apart," she reasoned. Her vision blurred, and she touched her face with a shivering finger. _I'm... crying?_

Teddie lifted up his free hand and wiped away her tears with his thumb, cleaning her face of the salty teardrops. He smiled at her, but it was bittersweet at best. "Then... I'll make a link with you, and we'll fix everything."

"Teddie," she sighed his name, but that didn't take away from the smirk forming on her face once more. "It isn't that easy. I don't think things can be fixed..."

"I know it isn't easy, but I couldn't _bear_ just letting you go without trying, Yuki-chan!" He laughed at the joke, and she chuckled with him, only for her laughter to crumble. She stepped closer, and the laughter in his chest died as she laid her head on his shoulder. Her arms wrapped around his slim body and she stayed there as the moments crept by. "Y-Yuki-chan?"

"You can come with me, Teddie."

"W-what?"

His voice cracked, and she chuckled at the sound of the shocked bear. "You can come with me," she mused. "You're the only one who ever came to ask me what was wrong, so... so maybe you're all I need now."

He stood there, in her arms, for what felt like forever. He tried to open his mouth to say something, but he wanted to say too much too quickly. The words crashed into each other, creating a massive traffic jam inside his throat as words from both his heart and brain collided in between. All that escaped was a small, unsteady, "Huh?"

"You don't have to say anything, Teddie. You should think about it. Make sure it's what you want..." She pulled away, and he felt his body feel unaturally lighter. He didn't like it, but his focus quickly fell on something else. The raven innkeeper's features were disturbed by small, glimmering rivers flowing down her face. He raised his hands to wipe them away again. She laughed at how warm his touch was. "How are you not cold?"

"My _bear-dy_ temperature is naturally hot," he replied, winking at her as his own eyes began to leak. She raised her own fingers to wipe them away. Her touch was icy and he shivered as her fingers stroked his face.

"S-sorry." She tried pulling back, but his hand caught hers again.

"No! I'm okay! Just took me by surprise. I like your touch," he beamed, nuzzling his face against her fingertips with a contented smile. Normally she would have scolded him and pulled away, but he deserved this much at least. "Yuki-chan?"

"Yes, Teddie?"

"I'll think about your offer, if you think about mine." Their eyes trapped each other once more and she felt her breath being stolen away away again. This time, it wasn't by the wind. "Stay in Inaba. Stay here, and we'll fix everything. Just like Sensei would. We'll talk to everyone and we'll get the band back together!"

"Teddie..."

"Just think about it! Please? With sprinkles on top?"

 _It's, 'with sugar on top,' Ted,_ she thought, but decided to leave the thought as only that. "I... I promise to try."

"Yay!" His fingers brushed against her knuckles and gently latched onto her pinkie. He motioned for her to extend it and she did so, watching her pinkie and his hook around each other. "We pinkie promise!" Their fingers broke apart, and Yukiko lamented the loss of his warm touch. "No matter what, we'll stick together, Yuki-chan! I'll be your prince in shining in armor!"

 _Prince? Teddie's my prince?_ She laughed at the thought. She laughed at how ridiculous it was. She laughed at how true it was. For the first time, in a long time, she snorted and laughed and held her stomach as her funny bone was tickled.

"H-hey! Yuki-chan, what's wrong?! I'm being _beary_ serious here!"

She threw herself at him again, and she squeezed him in her arms. The confused blonde could only hug her back, a big question mark forming in his mind. "Thanks, Teddie... You're not a bad prince." The blush that formed on his face was enough to melt the arctic. He considered saying something, but decided not to ruin the moment. He simply remained there, in her arms.

"Hey, Teddie?"

"Yes, Yuki-chan?"

"Can you walk me home?"

"I'd be happy to escort you back to your castle, my Princess."

She wasn't wrapped around his arm. They didn't even hold hands. They just enjoyed each other's company as they walked back down the hill together. They barely noticed snow falling from above. It was only when the chilly, winter wind blew towards them that Yukiko realized something. Yukiko Amagi felt warm.

 **END**

Goals.

1\. I wanted to write SOMETHING. I wish I could tell you guys I've been enjoying a wonderful vacation and kicking back, but in truth, I'm exhausted. I got my first job and it is... well, exhausting. Not to mention I've been super busy lately. I hardly have enough time to write. I'm not giving up, but yeah... Been busy.

2\. To prove I can write something sad and bittersweet. So I wrote something sad and bittersweet, because even though people like to tell me I'm a good comedy writer (thanks, guys!) I do want to be good at sad stuff too.

3\. To write how I feel. My life, like Yukiko's, is at a fork. I'm at a massive decision in my life right now. I won't bore you with the details, but a chapter of my life is closing and I'm terrified and I'm scared and holy shit what am I going to do...? But I have people who love me. I have my own Teddie, who promises to stick with me. I think that might be enough...

(Just so ya'll know, I'm a dude and my Teddie's a girl. Just wanted to avoid any confusion)

4\. To write Teddie and Yukiko, the Persona 4 characters I probably have the hardest time writing. I wanted to challenge myself. So here's a story with the two chracters I'm not as good with writing. Enjoy.

Hope you enjoyed this... whatever it is. I wanted to leave it open ended. Enjoy, and have a great day. Stay safe.


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